Established in 1685 by Simon van der Stel, the then governor of the Cape, Groot Constantia is one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa. In the 1770s the estate passed into the hands of the Cloete family, which produced a dessert wine much favoured by Napoleon. However, the family was bankrupted by an outbreak of phylloxera in the 1860s and the land lay fallow for over a century, until major replanting began in 1975. Today Groot Constantia is renowned for its red wines, particularly the Gouverneurs Reserve. The manor house is a magnificent example of Cape Dutch architecture. Behind the house are the old cellars, now housing the museum of wine, whose pediment sculpted by Cape sculptor Anton Anreith in 1791 is not to be missed.
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